Proverbs 20:5-12
5The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,
but one who has insight draws them out.
“Purposes” in this verse stands for deep wisdom (like water of a deep well). But “purpose” is no good unless you can get it from its possessor. People with little to offer us are generally free with their advice, but people who really have knowledge tend to be more conservative with giving unsolicited advice. In fact, sometimes it takes just the right person who goes at the right time and approaches the subject in just the right way to get such valuable counsel. This verse shows that where there’s a will, a person of understanding will find the way to get it.
6 Many claim to have unfailing love,
but a faithful person who can find?
The tendency of humanity is to tell those things that are personally commendable and to forget those things that are not As such we tell only a part of the story. A “faithful” person (one who tells it exactly as it is concerning himself) is almost impossible to find, according to the implication of this verse. There is much food for thought here for each of us.
7 The righteous lead blameless lives;
blessed are their children after them.
Everybody is blessed when a man lives right, but especially themself and their family. Since influence and environment are such strong factors in life, those who are the closest to a righteous person are the ones who receive the greatest blessings from their influence. “Integrity” is honesty and uprightness. Other passages showing that one’s offspring is blessed by their righteousness and because of their righteousness: Psa. 37:25,26; 112:2
8 When a king sits on his throne to judge,
he winnows out all evil with his eyes.
Not just any king, for some kings (like Ahab) have been the source and the multiplication of evil. But a good king is one who rules with a righteous scepter, and his government praises the good and punishes the evil (I Pet. 2:13,14; Rom. 13:3)
9 Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;
I am clean and without sin”?
The implied answer is “nobody”. We can make our hearts corrupt and our lives sinful, but we cannot dispel the guilt nor cleanse away our sin apart from God’s mercy. Put another way, we cannot direct our own way successfully (Jeremiah 10:23), nor can we save ourselves by our own righteousness (Titus 3:5), nor can we cleanse ourselves from a single sin.
10 Differing weights and differing measures—
the Lord detests them both.
People sometimes employ such means to gain personal advantage even though its disadvantage to others equals the advantage that it is to dishonest person. It is unscrupulous gain. It is plain and intentional dishonesty. And it is abomination to God. See Deut. 25:13-16 and Prov. 11:l also.
11 Even small children are known by their actions,
so is their conduct really pure and upright?
The Bible says we can know what a person really is by what they do (Matthew 7:16; 12:35; I John 3:lO; 2:29). This verse shows that people begin to take notice of one’s behavior and to form an opinion concerning them even when they are young children.
12 Ears that hear and eyes that see—
the Lord has made them both.
Psalm 94:9 and Exodus 4:11 also affirm that God has made our equipment for seeing and hearing, and when one studies the intricacies of these valuable parts of our bodies, who else but God could make them? This is applicable not only to the eyes and ears but to all the body. Jesus spoke of eyes that see and ears that hear several times relative to people who choose to hear His message, and those who choose not to hear or see it.
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